No title yet
by psycho-snuffy
Summary: Koenma sends one of his other detectives to fill in for genkai at the dark tournament. What'll happen when the guys accompany her and her partner to America and the Middle East? Hiei belly dancing, can't you just see it? The things my mind comes up with.
1. and so it begins

Hi everybody! Now that I have updated 'standing down,' I'm starting this one!! I'm hopped up on hot cocoa and SPICE girls! Yes, I am listening to SPICE girls even as I write this. Scary thought, eh? –dancing to 'my boy lollypop'- I just might start singing!! Yes, my friends, I am seriously hyper. It is scaring even me... any who, now for the disclaimer!!

DISCLAIMER: Sadly, I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. –sob- are you happy now, you stupid lawyers?! You've completely crushed my dreams!!! –snort- yeah, right... I'm too hyperactive at the moment to be thinking clearly, let alone dreaming. Good thing I already have this chapter written, cuz there's no telling what I'd come up with on spur of the moment!

- blah - Hiei speaking telepathically

= blah = Sanura

((blah)) Kali

Anyone else's thoughts will be put into 'these' quotes, and I'll tell you who's thinking.

No title yet! (any ideas?)

Chapter One:

Juri looked on as Yusuke gritted his teeth with determination. After several moments of silent anticipation, she began to announce Toguro the winners. Just then the massive pink doors jolted and slid open to reveal a small woman, who was walking confidently toward the arena. Yusuke's eyes widened in surprise – he had asked Koenma to fill in for Genkai, and this female was not Koenma by any means.

She was a little less than 6 feet tall, with long legs and a slim frame. Her gold-tinted orange hair was pulled into a high ponytail that went down to her hips, with white-gold bangs framing the sides of her face. Just behind her bangs two coal-black ears twitched this way and that, reacting to the numerous sounds that echoed through the stadium. They looked almost canine, but slimmer. Three necklaces encircled her neck, each longer than the last, with a cross hanging on the bottom-most one. She wore a gauzy white shirt, the hem of which was just below her ribcage, whose sleeves reached to her palms. Her bare mid-drift sported a rather odd-looking tattoo, which consisted of a small swirled pattern on each side of her twice-pierced navel.

Flowing lavender pants rested loosely on her hips, and two soft black tails swished back and forth behind her. She wore velvety navy boots on her small feet, as well as gloves of the same material that cut off slightly past her knuckles. Her skin was smooth and pale – obviously not Asian - and her muscles were well toned without being awkward or bulky. Her movements were like silk and she carried herself like a queen, her long orange tresses shimmering like gold with every step she took. A smirk had settled itself across her elegant face, her long-lashed eyes shut against the unruly crowd that shouted various obscenities at her and openly doubted her capabilities.

Kurama and Hiei were both somewhat confused by her aura, which seemed intense but powerless at the same time. The woman made her way to Yusuke and opened her eyes at last, much to his surprise. They were cat-like, slanted and swimming with colors; intense reds and calm blues swirled in the depths of her irises. She smiled at the boy's reaction before blinking a few times. When she looked at him again, her eyes were almost solid violet, though he could still see traces of solid blue.

"Who are you?" Yusuke asked in a less-than-polite manner.

The woman in front of him bowed respectfully before answering, "My name is Sanura. I work for Koenma also, and insisted on filling Genkai's place so that the prince wouldn't have to get his hands dirty."

"So can you fight?"

"It won't be necessary, but yes. I can if I am forced to." The girl crossed her arms and watched as Juri announced the contenders for the first match. "What have those two got between them?" She asked Yusuke, in regard to the obvious tension building between the two men on the platform.

"Karasu has a sort of thing for Kurama."

"Really now...I know the fox swings that way, but that guy doesn't seem like Suuichi's type – or gender, for that matter."

"How do you know about that?"

"Anything written in Koenma's files, I know."

"And how do you manage that?"

Sanura grinned slyly, "Easy. I know what Koenma knows." She left the detective to think on her words, and decided to watch the battle in silence rather than chatting idly. No matter how inactive her mouth, however, her brain was in a constant state of contemplation. She thought rapidly and, no matter how relaxed she was, could not help but ponder about small things; how stereotype it was that demons be enthralled by bloodshed, how amazing it was that mankind had built so many advanced machines and conceived the idea of emotions, yet they were so self-absorbed. She meditated on these things, as well as others, daily - if not hourly. At the moment, she was being particularly careful about what she allowed her self to think. She was well-aware of Hiei, who was probing her thoughts as fast as they crossed her mind. It was rather unnerving, knowing that someone she'd never met was rutting about in her mind, free to see anything she saw – well, at the moment anyway. She allowed him snoop around for a bit – she had barriers around what she did not want other demons knowing, whether Hiei was present or not.

- 'Rutting' is a terrible word for telepathy. – Hiei argued in her mind.

= Reading a stranger's thoughts without permission is just unbecoming enough to fit the word, would you not agree? = She responded.

- No. -

Sanura smiled at the fire demon, looking him up and down with a devious gaze that verged on predatory. = You're cute. Just remember that I can read thoughts, same as you. =

- If you're so intelligent, you should've just blocked me out. –

= I did, to some extent. You didn't hear a thing I thought about Kurama. = She smirked as she watched Youko emerge from behind a crackling field of smoke, admiring his award-worthy entrance.

- You realize how positively disgusting that is. –

= Relax, dragon boy. I'm not interested. =

Hiei's eyes narrowed at her demeaning nickname. Before he could think anything back, he sensed her bitterness, something he had failed to perceive earlier. She not only had the proverbial wall around her heart, she had fortified it with bricks, a moat, and archers. He had little sympathy. – Hn. -

Sanura smirked, though her gaze remained focused on the arena. = You struck me as the sensitive type. = Her eyes widened considerably as she saw Karasu throw a huge glowing bomb at Youko. Hiei, apparently, was prepared for such an attack, and simply disappeared to Lord-knows-where. Sanura, however, was less quick to act, and just barely missed a chunk of concrete as it flew past her and annihilated a fair-sized portion of the seating capacity. Taking care to avoid any more destructive forces, such as the now flying Kuwabara, she leapt nimbly into the audience and alighted on the edge of Koto's announcer box. Once the dust had settled she took her leave and returned quickly to the rest of the team, much to the chagrin of the surrounding demons.

Hiei had re-appeared at the ringside, calm and poised as usual. Sanura turned her slanted cat eyes on him once more. He was mildly surprised to find that they were orange.

- Your eyes were purple just a moment ago. –

= Indeed they were. My irises adjust their color to my emotions. =

She stared at the blanched form of Karasu falling to the ground with an appalled look permanently affixed to his face. Kurama lay face down on the floor. He was breathing, but she could feel his spirit drifting. Yusuke and a red-haired boy voiced her thoughts aloud seconds later. She waited patiently for the boy to rise, and once he was standing she let out her breath with relief. She felt more than saw Hiei's equally relieved, if not more visible, reaction. Juri revealed that, due to technicalities, she had to declare Karasu as the winner. Sanura just shook her head, wondering what possessed people to enter the god-forsaken tournament. 'Demons, perhaps?' Her conscience answered. 'Shut up, you,' She thought back, then mentally scolded her self for talking to voices in her head.

- You say that like it's not natural. –

Bui caught their attention by walking into the center of the battlefield. Kuwabara started going on about 'being strong for Yukina,' and Sanura could hold her laughter back no longer. "I'll be praying for him, poor idiot," she said aloud to Yusuke. Kuwabara had apparently heard, and grabbed her by her collar and began to shake her, much to the woman's surprise and evident anger.

"Ack! Get off me!" She yelled. The girl grabbed his arms and scrunched up her legs, then kicked him squarely in the chest with enough force to propel him backward twenty feet. She had leapt away as soon as she was free, back-flipped and planted her feet firmly on the ground next to a smirking Hiei. "Humph. The NERVE of some people," she mumbled, brushing her sleeves off. "Well, looks like your turn, squirt! Have fun with him," she encouraged Hiei happily.

He looked vaguely puzzled. "Squirt?"

"She means 'half-pint!'" the blustering red-head corrected. The girl just rolled her eyes.

"Well, I intended to fight that bastard with the sun glasses, but in consideration to Genkai, I'll leave him to you." He nodded to Yusuke, blurred away and re-appeared standing on the battlefield. "I'll be content with fighting this guy." As soon as the battle began, Sanura walked over to Kurama and proceeded to make a mental list of his injuries.

"What are you doing to him?" Yusuke asked, more than a little skeptical.

"I am checking for injuries," She replied simply.

"Well it's pretty obvious he has a few."

"Is there a problem with my trying to help?" She was becoming more amused by the minute.

"Hm. But why are you checking him? We can all see that he's hurt."

"Yes, you can all see that he's in pain. The difference between you and me is that I can fix whatever is wrong. Can you do that?"

He stared at her. "What kind of demon are you?"

She sighed audibly and gave up – some people were just too dense. "I am a nurse, Urameshi, and as such it is something of a second nature to want to heal injured people. Do you give me permission to do my job now?" She gazed at him with the most amused eyes he'd ever seen.

He nodded and replied, "You still haven't answered me. What kind of demon are you?"

"First, I'm only half demon. Second, at this point you don't need to know anything about me. I am here to save your asses from disqualification and/or death. Nothing more." A trace of red flashed momentarily in her now green eyes as she began grounding a light-brown powder in a ceramic bowl. Just as the detective was about to retort, she added, "I promise that if he so much as catches a cold, you have every right to kill me." She smiled up at him and turned back to a rather confused redhead. Sanura flicked her wrist and a drinking glass materialized in her hand. She filled it with water – from nowhere, as far as Yusuke could tell – and dissolved the powder in it. "Here," she said, handing it to Kurama, "drink that." He looked doubtful. "Just do it, would you? It'll just let you sleep so you can rest."

After he had reluctantly consumed the sweet-tasting drink, whatever it was, he fell asleep almost instantly and slipped into unconsciousness soon after. Yusuke, of course, asked what exactly she had put in it.

"To tell you the truth, I really don't know."

His jaw went slack. "You don't know?!"

The girl crossed her arms defensively. "I know what it does and what it's for and when to use it. I don't know what the ingredients are, no, but I know that it won't hurt him."

"What if he's allergic to something?"

"That's out of the question. I would know if he was allergic to anything."

"I don't think you should be taking care of Kurama. Maybe when Hiei's done –"

"Hiei will be in need of a nap briefly, so I suggest you go enjoy the fight and QUIT BOTHERING ME!" Flicking her wrist again, she managed to procure a book out of the air and promptly began to read. "Now if you'd excuse me, I just finished the second in the series and I would like to start on the third."

"And what if he wakes up and you don't notice?"

"Why can you not trust me? Koenma does." He shook his head at that and left the woman to her reading.

* * *

"But why do YOU have to do it?" Yusuke asked, laying Hiei against the wall.

"Urameshi, I am going to have to ask you, yet again, to back off and let me do my job." Her hands found their way to her hips for the third time since the intermission began.

"Your job? Is someone paying you to fix Kurama?!"

The aforementioned kitsune winced involuntarily at the word 'fix.' The five team members sat in the locker room, along with Koenma and the girls. The redhead was, at present, sitting on the edge of the bed wondering why Yusuke had such a problem with this girl. Everyone else seemed okay with her, and she appeared not to be a threat to any of them. The battlefield had been destroyed with a rather deafening 'bang,' and Kurama had been fully awake ever since. Unfortunately, this also meant that he could feel every one of his wounds. They were healing quickly, a benefit of being half demon, but they still hurt something terrible.

Sanura sighed ever so lightly and closed her eyes in an effort to keep calm. The last thing she wanted to do was convert to her demon form in front of all these innocent humans. No, that would definitely not be the best way to introduce her self. "I am not 'fixing' him, and I would appreciate it if you would find a less offensive word to use. In any case, I am the only one here who can heal him, and he doesn't seem to have a problem with any of it."

"I just don't think you should 'examine' him. I mean, he's a guy and you're... not!" Several people in the room blushed at that. Sanura was not one of them.

She scoffed and crossed her arms. "Oh, please. My interest is purely medical and he doesn't have any injuries around there anyway."

Yusuke's eyes narrowed. "And just how do you know that?" Everyone in the room, including Kurama himself, turned questioning eyes on her.

She realized her mistake immediately and let out an exasperated sigh, rubbing the sides of the eyes in frustration. "I just... know, okay? It's hard to explain." She turned to Koenma and practically yelled, "Did you want to help me any time soon, or were you just going to sit there?"

The little prince crossed his arms babyishly and 'hmphed.' "Yusuke, stand back and let her do her job."

The teenager let out a low growl and leaned against the table behind him. Sanura did not blame him for his concern; it was only natural that he be skeptical of her motives. "If it's any consolation, I don't have to take any of his clothes off."

"Whatever," he grumbled. She smiled back at him – she knew it helped, even if he was reluctant to show it.

"Wonderful." She handed her patient a glass full of the same liquid she had given him earlier, but this time he accepted it without hesitance. He was soon unconscious and lying flat across the bed. Sanura's palms began glowing bluish-white as she suspended them over Kurama's first wounds. She tilted her wrist up and curled her fingers in slightly, letting the light slip down her hand and drop from her fingertips into the redhead's chest. She let it soak in until the light pulsed blue from beneath his tattered clothing, letting it spread across his unconscious form until it covered the better part of his torso. Her hands gently led the light over his body, covering each of the wounds he had acquired.

Her face remained thoughtful and intuitive throughout the procedure, her head tilting to one side or the other as if listening for something. Her hands moved gently and gracefully, with the practiced ease that only comes with years of experience. 'She must have done this hundreds of times,' Yusuke realized. 'Maybe she's okay to trust.'

* * *

I let my hands do their work, allowing my mind drift into that of my patient's as it often did during the healing. It was always so easy to access – they were, after all, unconscious. I sifted through his mind, searching for anything other ailments I had missed as well as fine-tuning the healing process to mend his body so that it would be exactly as I had found it. Minus the massive blood loss, of course. It was a wondrous feeling, being in the mind of the person you were curing. It made the process so much more successful, besides. I could feel everything he was feeling, knew exactly what to fix and when and how to fix it, what it felt like to be healed.

There were a few things that needed maintenance, as with any human body. Normally I would find cholesterol build-up, slightly deteriorated liver, minuscule tumors here and there, and disgusting things like that. That was all part of the human aging process, but I figured I might as well patch up a few things while I was at it. After all, those little tune-ups could add years to a person's life. I waited until the human's body was in one piece to repair all the systematic problems and reveled in the feeling of renewed youth his body experienced.

I brought him back to consciousness while my energy was still in him; I knew this was the best part. He had the usual confused expression on his face when he awoke to find me not only still working, but sorting through his mind as well. I was used to it – every patient I had ever had was wearing that same face. I grinned slyly at him, evoking a small amount of fear. This only amused me more, naturally. I let my fingertips hover a good six inches above his chest, where my healing energy had collected itself into a small pool of white. It seeped up through his clothes and reached out in little tendrils of light. I lowered my hand just enough to touch the tallest of them and pulled up again. All the energy immediately flowed into that tiny stem as I pulled my hand up, acting as though it was a slinky. I jerked my hand up at just the right moment, extracting all the remaining power and catching it deftly in the palm of my hand.

This was always the most enjoyable part for me, more so when I was still connected to the patient. His chest tingled and we both giggled softly.

It tickled.

* * *

Keiko had to yell at Yusuke in order to keep him from tackling Sanura toward the end. Kurama had woken up at the last minute and the nurse did nothing about it, just smiled at him and continued with what had to be a painful process. So, when the kitsune giggled, which was a surprise in itself, everyone's eyes widened. With the exception of Koenma, of course, who already knew about Sanura. Still, he had never seen Kurama GIGGLE.

There was a bit of tension as Sanura helped the redhead off the bed, and everyone in the room let out an audible sigh of relief when he stood up. He felt better than he had even before the tournament, and when asked about it, Sanura proved very humble indeed.

"I just fine-tuned a few things here and there, it was no big deal." She answered nervously, scratching the back of her neck. Yusuke humphed at her, but the healing had always made her peaceful, so she chose not to argue. She flicked her hand again after the energy had been absorbed, and a novel appeared in her grasp. She tossed it to Kurama and left the room, telling everyone she was off to talk with her partner Kali.

* * *

"So...what do you think?"

"I like them, except for Urameshi." Sanura frowned at her best friend. "He wears too much hair gel and his mouth is too big."

Kali made a disgusted face at her, "EW...I never will understand why guys wear that stuff." She blew a smoke ring at Sanura. The little ring of smoke passed right around the cat girl's head, and Kali laughed at the way Sanura shut her eyes just before it passed by her face. She would never get tired of that.

"Would you stop with the smoke rings? You know I hate them. And anyway, I thought you used hair gel when I first met you."

Kali blew three tiny rings in a row at Sanura's ear, laughing even harder at the way it twitched when the smoke hit. "Well, yeah, but that's not the point. And I like my smoke rings. Look at this one." She blew out a circle toward her friend and added a diagonal across it.

The orange-haired woman put her hands on her hips in indignation. "Would you stop it, please?"

"Hmm... I don't know..." She teased, blowing a few rings at her partner's ear again. "I could breathe fire instead, would you like that better?"

She scowled back, "No, as a matter of fact. When you burn your throat out and lose your voice, I will laugh. HARD." She poked Kali in the stomach and crossed her arms. Kali did not smoke cigarettes – or cigars, for that matter – but she was a dragon demon, and that entailed the ability to breathe smoke and fire whenever she pleased. Something she used for amusement, mostly at Sanura's expense.

"Oh, fine. But no more poking me. Every time you poke me, I get to blow a smoke ring, and vice versa, remember?"

"Well in that case, I believe you owe me three." Sanura poked her two more times and erupted into a fit of laughter, followed by Kali's cursing.

"So, seriously, can we work with them or what?"

Sanura almost instantly sobered. "I think so. Two of them are cute – the little short one and the redhead. That other redheaded one is unbelievably stupid, but he's actually kinda amusing, in a weird sort of way. And I already told you that I don't like the Urameshi kid. He talks too much."

"He talks too much or he yells at you too much? There's a big difference there. And since when did you think short guys were cute?"

"I resent that! I have no partialities toward either short or tall men. I just usually end up with taller ones because of my height. There's a big difference THERE."

Kali spit fire and watched it burst into flame on some poor demon's hair. She laughed at him and turned back to Sanura. "Sorry, what? I wasn't paying attention."

She sighed again. "Of COURSE you weren't. What am I going to do with you, huh? I can't kill you and I can't let you live."

"Good thing I'm not alive, eh?" She smiled, showing her fangs off as a habit.

"You want a show of teeth? I'll give you a run for your money. Unlike some people, I brushed my teeth as a child." Sanura gave her colleague a lopsided grin, making sure only her left fangs were in view.

"Please. Dental hygiene isn't exactly at the top of your list when you have to sleep in trees and hunt for food. Speaking of, I'm hungry. Where d'you get food in this place?"

"How should I know? You're always hungry. And Dr. Fluoride says you should always brush your teeth." She wagged her finger at Kali to put emphasis on the last sentence. Her sarcasm was her saving grace. Kali just laughed and slapped Sanura on the arm jokingly. A few minutes later Sanura decided she should go back to the resting room, as the platform was nearly done. She said bye to Kali and started walking toward the waiting room, wondering just how they had gotten on the subject of dental hygiene.

She mentally cursed herself for forgetting the reason she had wanted to talk to Kali in the first place and opened a telepathic connection as quick as she could. = Hey, one word of advice. =

((Yeah?))

= When you come up to the room after the tournament, come as a human. It'll be hilarious if they think you're human. =

((Why's that?))

= The little cute one hates humans. Just trust me, okay? =

((Completely human? I don't know if I can act ignorant for that long.))

= Ha, ha. I am SO amused. Just do it, alright? I'll explain later. You want a picture or something? = 

((Sure, why not.))

Sanura thought up an image of Hiei and 'sent' it to Kali, and she did not have to read her mind to know her friend was grinning. Sanura almost felt sorry for the fire apparition.

* * *

Sanura watched with concern as Toguro mercilessly killed chunks of the audience and absorbed their souls. She would have attacked him along with the crowd, had she been in her demon form. Granted, she was not entirely sure she would be able to kill him, but she could definitely do some damage to him if Yusuke was not planning on it. She flinched again and again as Toguro killed more people in an effort to get Yusuke up to par with his power.

She then noticed that Puu had told Toguro to kill one of Urameshi's friends, and Sanura froze on spot. Even though she knew she would be able to protect herself at least a little bit, that did not mean she wanted to find out if she really could kill him or not. Kurama and Hiei were talking about something of the same sort, and they seemed to draw a similar conclusion. As irony would have it, Toguro picked Kuwabara. She watched Kuwabara's attempt to charge the monster, and ran to help him along with Kurama, as Hiei disappeared to wherever.

Sanura got within five feet of Kuwabara, who was lying lifelessly in the other redhead's arms, and fell to her knees. His pain washed over her, in waves upon waves of agony. This, too, was part of her job. She absorbed the pain of others when she healed them, and so when she got too close to someone recently dead she acted as a lightning rod for the person's pain. She was blinded by it, unable to move or think. Kuwabara must have been in a serious amount of agony when he died, which, looking at the monstrosity that killed him, was no surprise. She wanted with every fiber of her being to get up and walk away, to leave him with what pain she had not soaked in, but she could never do that. So she ended up blacking out, and the last thing she remembered was the overwhelming feeling of torture he'd been in.

* * *

Kali was getting worried. She had seen Sanura collapse at the side of the dying human, and she had had just enough time to make sure they took Sanura with them before running out of the stadium as fast as she could. Not that it was hard or anything. All she had to do was take her jacket off, let her wings stretch out and fly through a crack in the roof. Easy as one, two, three. However, she was now on the roof of the hotel Koenma told her they were staying at, and faced with the problem of finding out which room they were in. She opted to ask the desk clerk instead of looking in the windows. After all, she was supposed to be human.

Needless to say, the clerk was little help. She ended up with the room number after making a phone call to Koenma, and took the time in the elevator to take in her wings. She set her jacket on the floor and bent down as if touching her toes, then began to flex her shoulder blades to ease the bones back in a little less laboriously. The leathery skin that made up the wings began to shrink and pull her joints closer together as the long arm-like bones shortened themselves. In less than a minute the only evidence left of the appendages were two dark nubs on either side of her spine. She cracked her neck like she always did after taking her wings in, then slipped her jacket back on and walked calmly out of the elevator. She then began the process of masking her demon features and becoming 'human.' She had the ability to cover up certain traits of hers; whether it was giving her self a new scent, aura, or just becoming invisible. So by the time she knocked on the door of Botan's room, she looked, smelled, and for all intents and purposes, was human. Even demon perception would not be aware of the fact that she was a demon-god.

Hiei sensed a human before Botan opened the door, and he was none too pleased. Kali was greeted with one of the fire demon's dreaded glares, which she returned ten-fold. His eyes widened a fraction of an inch at the hostility of her eyes, but he quickly regained his composure and turned his head away so she could not see his reaction.

Kali walked into the room as if she owned it, even though she was considered the lowest life-form present. Beside, perhaps, the fake plant standing in the corner. She found Sanura still unconscious and lying on the bed, and the first thing Kali did was check to make sure she was alive. Thankfully she was, and in any other situation Kali would have woken her up and yelled at her as loud as she could. But she was unable to use her telepathy here, so all she could do was lean against a random wall and wait with what little patience she possessed. She could not even amuse her self with smoke rings. Pity.

There was definitely tension in the hotel room, mostly due to Sanura's visitor, though she seemed not to be bothered by it. Said intruder was content to lean against the wall opposite Hiei and stare at him. She wore black suede pants with black high-heeled boots of the same material and a black garment around her waist that appeared to be a corset, under which she wore a white peasant shirt. On top of that she had a short red velvet jacket that had gold thread sown in flames on the sleeves. She was about five feet tall, with wavy black hair that had a crimson tint to it, middle-eastern skin, and steel gray eyes. Much to Hiei's delight, she was very good at staring at him. So good she barely noticed that Sanura was conscious again.

"Kali?" Sanura called.

"Hm," was her only answer.

"Kali."

"What?"

"You can stop staring at the little one now."

Kali finally turned her head and snapped back to reality. "Sanura! You scared me! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?! You're not supposed to be around dead people and YOU KNOW IT!!"

Sanura waited out the onslaught of screams with her usual patience and finally, when the other girl had run out of breath, stated, "It is my job, Kali. I can do nothing about it. Besides, Kuwabara didn't really die, so it wasn't as bad it could have been." She hopped up and introduced everyone to her partner, explaining that they had been working together for the last eleven years under Koenma's employment and that they worked internationally most of the time. Yusuke seemed more than a little surprised at that.

"Don't tell me you though all the demons in the world concentrated their efforts in Japan to make it easier for you to kill them. If Koenma sent you on every mission he had, you'd have to be in three places at once." Kali answered matter-of-factly.

"We also usually deal with the female threats. It works better that way."

"What is THAT supposed to mean?"

"Nothing really, it's just that missions tend to be more successful when opposing forces are the same sex. No messy attractions or anything like that to trip over." Sanura heaved herself gracefully onto the little table behind her and let her legs swing back and forth. "It's got nothing to do with how strong you are." = Male egos, eh? I wouldn't have to explain this to women. = She thought to Kali, making sure not to let Hiei listen in.

((So does this mean I can talk to you?))

= 'Course. Why would you think otherwise? =

((You said you wanted me to be human.))

= Yeah, but I've got a barrier up. They won't be able to tell the difference. So what's your opinion? =

((I like them. The Urameshi kid's just being territorial, he'll get used to it. I like the little short one, though. He's funny.))

= He hasn't said anything. How is that even vaguely amusing? =

((I don't know, it just is.))

"Hello?" Yusuke almost yelled at Sanura.

"Yeah? Sorry, I was thinking about something else." Sanura and Kali both had to make an effort not to laugh.

"I said, you never told me what kind of demon you are."

"Oh, that...well, how to put this...any ideas?" She turned to her best friend expectantly, who shrugged and took another sip of her water. Sanura frowned and stated, "My mother was Bastet, the cat goddess of Egypt, and my dad was one of the kinkwa-neko. So, I guess you could say I'm a cat demon, even though it's not politically correct."

"What's a kink-a-whatcha-ma-callit?" Kuwabara asked stupidly.

"It's a golden flower cat. They were rare demons that supposedly died out during the feudal era, believed to have to the power to transform themselves into beautiful women and seduce random people. They were also called 'beckoning cats' because shop owners kept them leashed up outside as a good luck charm. They were said to have drawn in lost travelers to the store." Kurama informed everyone. "You said your dad was one?" Sanura only nodded.

"So your mom was gay?" Yusuke asked.

Kali and Sanura both burst into a fit of laughter at his question, Kali spewing water all over Hiei. She only laughed harder at the glare he sent her, and stuttered her apology around giggles as Sanura tried to explain.

"No, she wasn't. See, when the golden flower cats were in their true forms, they were their original genders. My mom was in her cat form when they met, as well." Confusion was all that met her explanation.

"Why was your mother in Japan?" Hiei put in from his corner.

"Well, she was tired of being kept in the temple every day of her life, so when her yearly festival came around she took the opportunity to take her true form and run away. She got lost, and by the time she was in Japan she had no clue where she was. Hence the 'beckoning cat' bit. Anyway, she eventually made it back to Egypt courtesy of her father."

"So she's half goddess?" Kuwabara looked around the room for someone to assure him.

"Oh, what a smart puppy!" Kali clapped her hands sarcastically and Sanura snorted, trying desperately not to laugh while she nodded.

"What are you doing with a human?" Hiei questioned darkly.

Kali immediately became serious. ((Can I sock him?))

= No, you can't. We have to work with these people later. Remember that. = The orange-haired girl gazed meaningfully at Kali just to make certain that there would be no punching any time soon. "I have my reasons and I suggest you don't anger her. She's stronger than you think."

Hiei snorted at her and shut his eyes. Kali had a strong urge to burn him to a crisp, and several people in the room looked at her questioningly when heat waves started emanating from her. She smiled innocently and waved at them, effectively dispersing the fire she had built up in her bowels. If there was one thing she would not tolerate, it was someone thinking she was weak. But she could dissolve any of those thoughts from his little spiked head any time she felt like it, as soon as Sanura got over her prank. She just had to wait patiently until the day she could introduce her self properly – preferably in a dojo.

"So what's your true form, then?" Yusuke asked. Sanura did nothing but stare at him with obvious confusion. "If you're a golden flower cat or whatever, then you could just be trying to seduce us. How do we know you're not some creepy gay guy?"

Sanura gave him the weirdest look any of them had seen in a long time, but answered all the same. "I can tell you honestly that I'm female, if that's what you're looking for. But I can't just show you my true form. That would definitely NOT go over well." She said, laughing nervously.

"And why not?" He pressed. Now he was just curious. "Come on, it can't be that bad. Just show us."

The girl laughed again and Kali shrugged at her. "Um...which one?"

"What do you mean which one?" Yusuke's eyes were wide and skeptical, along with every other pair of eyes in the room.

"Well, there are three parts to me, so I have three forms. There's the demon one that I hardly ever use because it scares me, and then there's the good one that I never use in battle because it's cute but useless, and then there's the one I use almost all the time that I don't want to show you because there's not really enough space in the room." She managed get it out all in one breath, so fast that no one really understood what she had said.

"Well which one won't hurt us?"

"Um...the useless one. But I don't want to be in that one while he's around," she said, pointing at Kuwabara.

"Sanura, just do it. I'm getting tired." Kali shoved her forward. She could have sworn she heard the fire demon mutter something that sounded like 'typical.'

Sanura sighed and nodded. There was a little flash of blue light and she disappeared from everyone's sight. Kali sighed at the confusion generated by her partner's magic act and reached down to pull her best friend out from under the bed. To everyone's surprise and a certain idiot's childlike joy, there in Kali's arms was a tiny white cat, barely older than a kitten. The wavy-haired 'human' turned the animal over to Kuwabara, who was all too eager to hold her.

The little kitten was apparently not too pleased about it, but, when reminded by Kali that the man had just recently died, decided to put up with the oaf. She was, inevitably, passed around the room, though the other three boys had very little to do with her. The girls went crazy, of course, and by the time Sanura was back in her human form she had been pet, flipped, or scratched by nearly everyone in the room. Immediately after the pet-the-adorable-kitten escapade, Kali and Sanura retired to their room and bid everyone a good night.


	2. 69 merlot

Hello again! Remember how last chapter I was listening to the spice girls? Well my partially insane friend and I were discussing the possibility of the boys walking in on the girls why they were listening to the spice girls, and I ended up writing it into the second chapter. So bear with me, the insanity will be over soon (yeah, right)! I don't know when/if Kurama started to hear Youko's thoughts, but I think it's funny so Youko's thoughts will be present. Also, I apologize if anyone seems out-of-character, but sometimes I needed them to do certain stuff for the story.

Disclaimer: I still don't own Yu Yu Hakusho. If I did, I would be too busy dancing for joy to write this fic. Why do we have to write these anyway? Okay, from now on, I DO NOT OWN YU YU HAKUSHO!! That goes for the entire story.

Um, I don't own any of the musical groups listed in the fanfic, either.

- blah – Hiei

= blah = Sanura

((blah)) Kali

:: blah :: Kurama

[blah.] Youko

* * *

The rest of the girls, aside from Botan, had long retired to their beds when Botan shoved the boys out of her hotel room so she could get some sleep. Kuwabara went off to bed, as did Yusuke, and Kurama and Hiei decided to go walking for a bit. Halfway down the hall both boys heard a rather odd sound coming from one of the rooms, and could not help but see what it was.

* * *

"Hey, what CDs did you bring?" Sanura plugged her stereo into the outlet and produced a bottle of 1969 Merlot with a flick of her wrist. There had been a point in time when she hated stealing like that, but she had long since gotten over it.

"Um...I don't know, here." Kali tossed the other girl her CD case and went back to packing. They were leaving for California the next morning; Koenma had already managed to line up a mission for them. The two girls had decided that they should take the packing time to celebrate the boys' victory. Not that they would have needed an excuse anyway, but at least this way they had something to tell Koenma.

"Why do you of all people have a Brittney Spears CD?" Sanura asked with a frown on her face.

"Lord knows. What else is in there?"

"TATU, Offspring, Good Charlotte, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Postal Service, Led Zeppelin, Spice Girls-"

Kali looked up to see a devilish grin all over her best friend's face. "Spice Girls? Not a chance. You'll have to get me drunk first." The both of them were fans of old 90's pop, but that was a stretch.

Sanura laughed and put the disc in the stereo anyway, turning it to the second song and pouring them both a glass of wine. "That can be arranged." Kali snorted and took a sip of the sugary alcohol as 'Wannabe' started up.

"You know...I forgot how much I liked this."

"I know. Excellent year, hm? I always thought I had good taste in wine." Sanura took her first sip and turned the music up, then started to shut the door. She thought better of it and left it open just a few inches, thinking that it would turn out to be quite an amusing night.

"I wasn't talking about the wine. Speaking of, you think maybe we can forgo the glasses?" Kali suggested, holding up her empty wine glass. Sanura looked at hers, which was also nearly empty, and nodded. They set the glasses on the TV stand and started passing the bottle instead as the next song started. The girls grinned widely at each other and simultaneously started singing, Kali automatically taking up the melody and Sanura dropping into the harmony with ease.

* * *

Kurama suddenly found Hiei's arm blocking his path. "What is it?"

"Sh, listen," the fire apparition hushed him. Both demons heard it then; the unmistakable cheery beat of 90's pop music drifting happily down the hall. The kitsune's curiosity got the better of him, and he was soon sneaking around the corner with Hiei in tow. He stepped as quietly as he could toward the slightly opened door, and almost burst into laughter at what met his eyes. The other demon soon followed, and even he was hard- pressed to keep from laughing.

The two girls had clothes strewn all over the floor, though some articles had made it into their suitcases, with a stereo playing 'my boy lollypop' just loud enough for a human to consider it soft, though it was loud enough for a demon. Kali's corset lay discarded on the opposite side of the room along with her jacket, boots and pants. In place of them she was wearing a pair of skintight red shorts with the same gauzy shirt she had been wearing earlier. Hiei could not help but notice that, without the corset over it, the shirt draped over her curves and flowed with her movements as she danced in the most inviting way. He immediately reprimanded himself and reminded himself of the fact that she was human.

With that reestablished, he tried to understand what had possessed them to do whatever it was they were doing; then he saw the wine bottle in the other girl's hand and asked Kurama, "Are they drunk?" Upon looking up he discovered that the redhead's eyes were wide and watching the other woman.

She was wearing a pastel green tank-top and the shortest pair of navy blue shorts imaginable. Ironically, they left very little to the imagination. Sanura was dancing around the room, bottle of Merlot in hand, swaying her hips on beat and singing soft harmony.

_my boy lollypop_

_you make my heart go giddy-up_

_you are as sweet as candy_

_you're my sugar dandy_

_whoa-oh, my boy lollypop_

_you'll never ever leave me_

_because it would grieve me,_

_my heart told me so_

_I love you I love you, I love you so_

_but I don't want you to know_

_I need you I need you, I need you so_

_and I'll never let you go-oh_

_my boy lollypop_

_you make my heart go giddy-up_

_you set the world on fire_

_you are my one desire_

_whoa-oh my lollypop_

[I don't believe she realizes how suggestive that song is.]

= I believe she does. = A voice Kurama did not recognize echoed in his mind. Hiei, however, did recognize it.

* * *

The song ended and Kali laughed, "Do you know how long it's been since I've heard that song?"

"Tell me about it. God, I love that song." Sanura took a swig of Merlot and sighed.

"So..."

"So." Sanura repeated.

"Whad'you think of the fox?" she waved her hand at the other girl.

Sanura passed the bottle to her and answered thoughtfully, "I think he's gay."

* * *

Kurama almost fell over. :: What?! ::

- Are you really that surprised? At least she knows you're male. That's more than either of us can say for a lot of people. -

* * *

"That doesn't make him any less hot." Kali stated matter-of-factly.

Sanura giggled in a rather perverted way. "Agreed. He's so innocent, though."

Kali grinned back, "Even better," and passed the bottle over.

Sanura laughed again, this time suggestively. "Oh, the things I could do to him..." She looked at her 'human' friend with amused eyes if Kali had ever seen them.

"Indeed," she agreed, "I still like the short one."

"You ARE the short one."

"Is he using the same wind we are using?" Kali replied, recognizing the reference to 'The Princess Bride.' They laughed at the inside joke while the two demons outside looked on in confusion. "In all seriousness, he is pretty cute."

* * *

- Cute, am I? – he narrowed his eyes at the human.

* * *

The cat girl smiled, letting her fangs show. "He's adorable. But you haven't a chance in hell as long as he thinks you're human," she informed her, smiling sweetly.

Kali frowned. "Yeah, about that...can I let my wings back out? You know they start to get sore if I keep them in too long."

"Sure," she answered, knowing full well that Hiei was listening to their every word.

"Oh, thank God," Kali muttered, stretching her arms back. She wore that shirt for one excellent reason: it was scooped in the back as well as the front, so her wings were able to fold in and out as she pleased. The tiny black nubs lengthened and unfolded to become a huge set of leathery dragon wings. They stretched to touch the walls of the hotel room, flapped a few times, and folded up to rest at Kali's back.

She then dropped her human scent, let her fangs, ears and claws grow out and breathed in her demon-god scent joyfully.

* * *

:: Something tells me she's not human, Hiei. ::

- She's not a demon, either. –

Kurama turned all of his senses on the woman and realized what the Jaganshi meant. Her thought process was faster than a demon's, and she smelled better too.

* * *

"Now..." Kali continued, this time with a slightly fuller voice, "about the things you could do to the redhead?"

* * *

Kurama's eyes widened.

* * *

"Hm-m." Sanura swallowed her wine. "I believe we were discussing how positively adorable your little fire demon is."

"Oh he's mine how, is he?"

"Hm...well, why not?" Sanura smirked; she could hear Hiei growling outside.

"Can't think of a reason. Ugh, I hate this song." Kali got up and skipped a few tracks on the CD until it came to 'beautiful' by Sevendust.

"Sevendust? Why do you have Sevendust on a Spice Girls CD?"

"I burned this CD at two in the morning. I must have done it alphabetically. Give me the wine."

"We drank the wine."

"So make more."

"I knew that. You know, it's a good thing we can hold our liquor, 'cause we drink this stuff like water." She flicked her wrist and the bottle was full again. "This is the third bottle tonight."

Kali just shrugged, "it's like juice to me. I hardly ever get drunk anymore."

* * *

- So they aren't drunk –

[you say that like it's a good thing.]

:: must everything have a double meaning with you? ::

* * *

"Okay, we need to actually start packing." Kali was always the first to be realistic.

"Right. I can't believe we already have to leave. I love L.A. and all, but the tournament just ended."

"Tell it to Koenma. Is this yours?" Kali produced half of a black string bikini and threw it at Sanura.

"Oh, yeah, thanks for finding that." She stuffed the garment into her suitcase and resumed the task of gathering her clothes off the floor. In a few more minutes she was packed, though Kali was still having trouble with her many zippers. Sanura laughed at her friend's antics; the demon-god had never been good with suitcases.

Kali felt fire building up inside of her. Damned zipper, it just did not want to cooperate. Sanura ended up sitting on the bag for her so she could zip it closed at last. "I need to burn something. You want to come?" She stretched her wings again, nearly knocking the TV over, and walked towards the window.

"No, I'm going to catch up on my reading."

"Suit yourself. Leave the window open, 'kay?"

Sanura nodded and watched her partner dive out the open window. Kali waited until the last moment to unfurl her wings, just like always, and it still made Sanura nervous to watch her freefalling into the dark sky. She turned the music down and listened for any sounds coming from the other side of the door. Much to her amusement, the three demons were having a telepathic argument. She could not waste an opportunity like that, so she snuck up to the door and then swung it open as fast as could, yelling 'hi!'

Hiei had drawn his sword before any of them could think, and Kurama jumped about a foot in the air. She erupted into a fit of laughter and bent over where she stood, gasping for air. When she finally straightened up she managed to say, "good Lord...that was hilarious!"

Hiei growled at her while the redhead beside him looked utterly confused. "I'm glad that it's so amusing to you." He walked past her and marched promptly to the window, then hopped into the night.

"What's his problem?"

"Don't mind my friend; he's a bit antisocial." Kurama smiled at her.

"Okay, well I'm going to go to bed now, so...good night." She smiled back in spite of herself. Kurama bid her a good night as well, and as soon as she shut the door she flopped onto her bed and pulled her reading book out of the air.

After reading for roughly two hours Sanura heard a 'whoosh' outside and Kali landed expertly on the window sill, wisps of steam curling from her lips as she exhaled smoke. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail, a few loose strands hanging in her face, and she was sweating. Kali muttered curses under her breath and sauntered across the room, flopped into bed, and proceeded to fall asleep. Sanura was left utterly perplexed as to why her friend was so angry. Normally after burning something, Kali was calm and uncharacteristically serene.

Sanura left her questions for the morning and walked over to the window, setting her book on the bedside table. She looked back at Kali, who was already out cold, and turned back to the crescent moon outside. She had always loved the crescent moon, even more so than the full. Being a cat goddess came with a certain fixation with the moon, like an addiction. Seeing it so clear in the midnight blue sky made her eyes shine and her heart rush, and she decided to make use of the rise in power that the moon gave her.

She pushed off the edge of the window and enjoyed the rush of air in her face as the ground came rushing up to her waiting feet. She landed like the cat she was, graceful and balanced, and used the rebound energy to launch into a string of back handsprings and flips. When she was firmly on the ground and standing still she let her hair down from its ponytail and walked to the edge of the cliff that the hotel was built on. The beach stretched out below her, the moon reflecting off of it as if the sand were crystal. Sanura could barely contain her excitement. After a few moments of enjoying the breeze she slipped eagerly into her favored form and took off to explore the island. There was not enough time to have any real fun before she left, but she could at least play around a bit.

* * *

Wind raced past Kali's face and tugged urgently at her wings as she dove uncontrollably downward. She loved the rush that came with flight, even if it was only several stories of falling. When there were only a few stories between her and the ground Kali let her wings tilt up with the wind, pulling up at the last possible moment and soaring cleanly into the velvet sky. She rose a few hundred feet above the hotel and leveled out, riding invisible currents while she scouted out a good dry tree.

She found a fairly parched oak, circled around it a few times to be sure there was no active life or anything of the sort, then urged the flames in her to swell up. She breathed in deeply while hot, liquid fire sprang forward in her throat; her slow exhale tickled the fire in her throat and dared it to follow.

That fire was raw and in its purest fluid form when it grew in the dragon's belly, and so in order to ignite it fully all Kali had to do was breathe. But it was unbelievably complicated; if she were to breathe out too quickly it would only create heat and a tickle in her throat, which usually resulted in severe coughing. If she failed to exhale fast enough the fire would backtrack down her throat and that most often ended with choking. She blew out just swiftly and gently enough to catch a flame, then breathed harder as it reached the end of her tongue.

Flames leapt eagerly out of Kali's mouth and flew swiftly to the oak in front of her, capturing the fresh leaves in a blazing firestorm that spread too slowly for her liking. She swooped down and rolled over in the air so that she was looking up at the dense canopy of leaves, and let white- hot flames pour smoothly from her lips. The jet of fire hit the branches with an audible 'whoosh' and within minutes half the tree was burned. Kali was preparing another assault on the dilapidated oak when she heard someone curse rather loudly at her and drop down from the branches.

"Gah! Damn it, woman!" The figure called from the ground.

Kali burst out laughing at the sight. There, standing up in the flickering light of the fire, was an angered and unpleasantly surprised Hiei. (AN: the spell check wanted to turn 'Hiei' into 'Heidi!' Ha!) He was, at present, still cursing loudly at her, and this only served to amuse her more. However, in light of her previous intentions, laughing was definitely not something she needed to be doing. Fire, in its liquid form as well as flames, came pouring out the sides of her mouth as smoke furled out of her nose. She immediately regretted her laughter, and began to cough as she sank to her knees and bent over. Patches of grass flared up and burnt out as the fire dripped from her lips.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Kali turned the remaining fire to ash with a wipe of her hand, stood up, and crossed her arms. "Riding my bike, you asshole, there's a lovely breeze tonight," she replied sarcastically.

"Making me mad is not a good idea," He growled.

Kali blew a smoke ring at him, which he swiped out of the air, and grinned. "I'm shaking in my boots." She shifted her footing slightly to better her center of gravity and let her hands fall to her sides. It was an open invitation on her part, and she had been waiting for this fight since the tournament started.

"Fine. I gave you a warning."

She had just enough time to dodge his sword – he seemed faster in person. Kali wrapped her legs around a thick branch and hung upside down, waiting for him to attack her. When his sword was in mid-swing she let loose a huge mouthful of fire at once and curled up before the blade could slice her in two. He dodged easily and came at her from behind, only to cut through air. She reappeared to his right, a gush of fire streaming from her open mouth. It hit him square in the chest and his cloak burst into flame without delay. The next thing he felt was a burst of heat behind him, soon followed by an intense heat coming from his ankles. Upon glancing down the apparition discovered two growing flames near the end of his pants. He cursed and looked around for the vile woman who had set his pants on fire.

Kali flipped over in the air and let her smoke-streaked laughter ring out through the night sky. When she had stopped laughing, her opponent's eyes were fixed on her. Though he had managed to discard the cloak and put the latter flames out, his legs were bare from the knee down. Kali giggled at the sight of him, yet again. "I love doing that. You really shouldn't have put that out, though; pity it couldn't go up further." She grinned and looked upward as if imagining, well, something.

That was more than Hiei was willing to put up with. He flew at her with one arm ready to punch her as hard as he could, and tumbled over in the air a few times when he missed his target. She was flapping her great black wings just a few feet away, smiling sweetly at him. It made it all the more enjoyable when he finally hit her – hard. The little apparition could not help but smile when she doubled over and white-hot fire spurted from her mouth along with blood. Her wings swept forward on instinct and curled around her, inevitably covering him as well and trapping him next to her coughing form. Blood and fire continued splattering against her wings, the blood dripping down the leathery surface while the fire flared upon contact and burned miniscule holes in the skin.

Kali choked for a moment and a flame the size of a golf ball shot out of her throat, flared up to the size of her head and burned a gaping hole in the flesh of both her wings. Hiei looked on in mild shock as the girl cried out in pain and opened her wings too quickly for the other demon to see. She sprang upward, letting Hiei fall to the ground on his own, and flew to her open window. Her ash gray eyes were beginning to water with the wave of pain that washed over her as air ripped through the holes and tore at her skin. Kali's pain quickly turned to anger just like every other emotion she encountered. Sanura looked rather surprised to see her, but the dragon cared little at the moment. She would talk later; at the moment she needed sleep more than anything else.

* * *

Okay everyone! Review! Sorry it's been taking so amazingly long to update all my fics, but computers have been few and far between lately. I just got back from texas a couple days ago, so I'll update this story as soon as I get another chapter up on my InuYasha fic! See you guys later...


	3. fluttery things

Well, what with the disclaimer taken care of in the last chapter, I have nothing important to say! Go figure. Thankfully I got over the Spice Girls binge, but now I seem to be getting back to my country-western roots. Yeeha. What is it with me lately? Ah well. Here goes, I guess.

Wait! I do not own McDonald's!

- blah – Hiei

= blah = Sanura

((blah)) Kali

:: blah :: Kurama

[blah.] Youko

* * *

Sanura sat comfortably in her royal blue airline seat and ate her foil-wrapped international airline peanuts. Kali was staring devilishly at said peanuts, willing them to spontaneously combust. Which, granted, could be arranged if she had anything to do with it.

"No, Kali," Kali looked up to see her partner's hand over hers and wide maroon eyes staring meaningfully at her. 

"Fine," she sighed. She had been anxious ever since last night, and burning peanuts on a major airline would definitely give her some entertainment. Sanura had taken care of the holes in her wings without difficulty, though that did little to ease her mind of the previous night's events – crying in front of people was something she did not, under any circumstances, do.

The intercom beeped and a female voice floated cheerily from the speakers. "Alright, folks, we are arriving at our destination of Los Angeles, California. It's 85 and sunny, with a slight chance of rain here in beautiful L.A., and we will be descending shortly. At this time all electronic devices need to be turned off, and your seats and trays need to be in their upright and locked positions. Welcome to Los Angeles!"

"About time," Sanura muttered.

Kali crossed her arms and shut her eyes. "People should not be allowed to sound that happy."

"Maybe she's on something." Kali sniggered at the suggestion. Sanura had always been a comedian at heart. A shame, really, that she had made the choices she had. She could have done something more meaningful than serving justice – not that Kali disliked the honorable career, or anything.

"Penny for your thoughts," Sanura tossed a salty peanut into her waiting mouth.

"Not a chance in all the hells. And don't you dare try reading my thoughts."

Sanura frowned. "Well how about a nickel? I have..." she dug through her pockets and produced several coins. "Forty-seven cents. Surely I can get something for that."

"Fine. I was just thinking about planes. I really don't think it's a good way to travel."

"Bull. Don't lie to me, Kali, I hate having to read your mind."

The demon-god sighed tiredly. When did Sanura get so damned intelligent? "Why are our lives so fucked up anymore? We shouldn't have to be here." She answered again, truthfully this time.

"Don't be so serious about everything, I had you laughing just a moment ago. Besides, if we never die we're bound to screw up sometime."

"I guess. It just doesn't make any sense."

"Aha! Maybe not sense, but it's perfectly logical! Logic prevails yet again." Sanura pointed her finger in the brunette's face triumphantly.

"Yay?"

"Humph. You are so uptight, Kali. SO uptight." The cat demon crossed her legs Indian-style and grasped her ankles, pulling them up as close to her as they would go.

"This coming from the woman who has to do stretches at every waking moment just to stay limber. I'm more flexible than you are and you do yoga."

Sanura blew a raspberry at her and waited patiently for the plane to land.

* * *

Koenma stared up at the demon and three humans in front of him, one of which was yelling.

"I have better things to do than follow some STUPID pair of girls half way across the WORLD when I just finished fighting TOGURO of all demons! What's a guy gotta do to get a friggin' vacation around here?"

"Yusuke, this IS a vacation. You're going to California, how bad can it possibly be?"

"He's got a point, you know," Botan added. "It's not like you have to fight anyone, you just have to make sure they don't get into any trouble. According to Ayame, they manage to stir up problems with the authorities in almost every city they visit."

"Hn. More babysitting," Hiei observed.

"Just do it, Yusuke!" Koenma hopped onto the desk in front of him and clenched his fists.

"Whatever."

"That's the spirit!" Botan beamed.

"Good. Now get packing; you have a plane to catch."

* * *

Sanura pulled her hair into a loose bun and popped her yoga video into the VCR. An unbelievably skinny blonde woman appeared on the screen and began talking in a calm yet instructive voice as she shifted into the first position.

Kali watched from a bar stool as her partner in justice followed every word the video instructor said. The brunette was sitting in a chrome-and-glass mini-kitchen, in a modern-style hotel room with floor-to-ceiling windows and soft white carpet. It was too sterile for her liking, though Sanura seemed to take to it immediately. 'Now THIS is a hotel room!' she had exclaimed happily upon entering. Kali supposed it was great to look at, but not exactly cozy. She much preferred her house back in Japan.

"You know, you should try this stuff too. It's incredibly relaxing."

Kali walked over to her tangled-up friend and bent over sideways so she could look Sanura in the face. "Your arms are shaking, your head is on the floor, and your legs are twisted in ways I never thought possible. Yes, it definitely looks peaceful." She tickled Sanura's side, causing the cat demon to fall over laughing, and walked back to sit on her bar stool.

"Hey! You can't do that, you cheater!" And so began a massive pillow fight that spread throughout the room. Both girls eventually ripped up a couple of down-feather pillows each, as well as earning a few bruises.

"Wow," Kali commented, looking at the mess of a hotel room before them.

"Yup. I'll cook if you clean," she suggested out of habit.

"Okay, I guess." Kali began picking up the masses of feathers that littered the floor.

"What do you want?"

"I'dunno, where's the menu?"

"Menu...?" Sanura's tails brushed against her hand as she looked through the mini-kitchen.

"Yeah, room service menu? The one the hotel's supposed to lay on the counter or something."

"I don't believe that room service would be pleased to see the havoc we have reeked here recently, do you?" She cocked an eyebrow at her winged partner, who was scooping pillow remains off the television.

"I guess not. What can you make?"

"Nothing without a stove," She answered, noticing the utter lack of kitchen appliances. "Why don't I help you clean up and then we can go to the diner across the street."

"Sure, now get a trash bag."

* * *

"So this America." Yusuke cocked an eyebrow and shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Apparently so," Kurama commented from behind the detective. The group was receiving many a strange look from English-speaking persons in the area, most likely due to their rapid-fire Japanese.

"Uh, guys...how're we supposed to get out of this place?" Kuwabara looked around the airport with childlike wonderment, much to the disgust of Hiei, who walked off down a hall with Kurama at his side.

"Yusuke," Botan was just walking out of the gate; the group's plane had just gated and the four boys were among the first few off. "You just have to follow the signs, silly!" The two humans looked up and were amazed to find that each hallway was headed with a board, which had arrows and labels for directions. Unfortunately, neither boy knew enough English for it to make much difference. Botan noticed this too late. "Oh, woops, I guess you can't just follow the signs, can you? Well, lucky for you two, I read English perfectly!"

When the three of them finally reached the taxi pick-up at the front of the airport, their two demonic companions were waiting with a cab. The five of them piled in without a word and prepared for the long drive.

* * *

Kali and Sanura had finally cleared the room of all pillow and/or feather remnants and had proceeded to treat themselves to desert at the nearest diner. The dragon had taken her wings in before leaving the room, as well as most of her demon traits. The cat had hardly bothered, though she did cast a simple invisibility spell over her tails and ears. But the fangs, claws, and tattoos, those stayed in public view. 'Let them stare, Kali, it won't matter to anyone. People in this city are used to weird crap like tattoos and fangs and abnormally long nails. They don't care," She had reasoned before they had departed.

Sanura sipped her rootbeer float thoughtfully and ate a piece of Kali's brownie. "Do you even care that I'm stealing your food?"

"Not really," was the half-hearted reply. The demon-god was busy thinking, yet again, of a certain fire apparition.

"I spend WAY too much time with you." The cat demon abandoned her now empty float and let her head fall into her right palm while her left hand twirled her bright orange hair.

"Agreed. Not much to do about it, though," Kali continued munching on her ice cream-topped, chocolate syrup-smothered brownie with somewhat robotic actions. "I wonder what the boys are doing."

"Boys?" The cat asked. She was rather consumed with thoughts of one in particular, a red-head with eyes as green as the plants he grew. The plural part confused her.

"Yusuke, Hiei, Kurama and that other one."

"His name is Kuwabara." Sanura said it plainly, and to the untrained ear it would have sounded annoyed. But to Kali, her partner of over a decade and friend of countless more, it was simply informative.

"You know I'm bad with names."

"I never did understand that; you're supposed to remember the secrets of the universe and be wise beyond all other creatures. So far as I've seen, you live up to that reputation wonderfully – but you can't remember anyone's name to save your life, I swear it."

Kali shrugged and poked at her brownie absently before looking up for the first time in over a half an hour. She was mildly surprised to find Sanura staring blankly into oblivion, so she tore herself away from her previous thoughts to focus on her friend. "You seem distracted, Sanura, are you alright?"

The cat girl drifted hazily back to reality and answered, "Yeah, just thinkin'."

"Oh, about what?" Kali scowled. All the answers to the universe's many questions could never help her to understand Sanura. One could almost call the cat goddess confusing.

Her golden hair shimmered as she shook her head. "_Who_ would be more accurate."

"Ah. The queen of hearts has a crush, eh? I should've known."

Sanura laughed at her old nickname; Kali had thought it up during one of the cat's many poker escapades in Las Vegas. "I could say the same for you, oh mighty single one. How long's it been since your last 'relationship'?"

"Um..." Kali squinted and looked up at the ceiling, as if it would offer some help.

Sanura sighed, "I'll give you a clue – it was before we took this job." Kali grimaced at that. "Yeah. See, unlike you, I can handle boyfriends on the side of work."

The brunette snorted. "Right, boyfriends that usually last about two weeks before you get tired of them. You have the attention span of a fruit fly. And anyway, just because I haven't had a relationship doesn't mean I haven't had anything else exciting." Kali crossed her arms on the table and leaned forward.

The other woman pointed her fork at the dragon and squinted in an unenthused attempt to be intimidating, though she could hardly contain her smirk. "At least I try. It's not my fault that those guys were boring."

"They weren't boring; they just only had one personality. Apparently that's not enough for you. A lot of people would consider you schizophrenic. Ever think about that?"

"Of course. But the fact that I act differently in accordance with a situation does not make me insane. I just enjoy many different things, thus making it hard for me to find someone who shares all of my interests."

"Impossible is more like it. I will never understand you."

"Course not. Shall we?" Sanura scanned the bill and stood up to face the cash register that stood next to the door.

"We shall." And with that, the girls took their leave.

* * *

"You realize they're following us."

"Of course they are," Sanura smirked.

"Ten says they think they'll have to save us."

"Twenty."

Kali and Sanura were presently scaling the cubicle-ridden floors of an office building on the outskirts of Los Angeles, courtesy of an outer elevator. It was just past 8am, and the two of them hoped to catch their target before she got settled into her new office. However, they were running a good deal later than expected, due in large part to Kali's morning irritability. Sanura, on the other hand, had been awake and practicing yoga at 5:30.

"I still don't understand why I can't just fly up." Kali looked longingly over the thriving metropolis and crossed her arms.

"It's L.A., Kali. Someone would notice. People don't just fly around major cities. Speaking of, why couldn't we ride _in _the elevator instead of on top of it?" Sanura was balancing on one leg while she pulled the other up to her chest, stretching it as far as she could.

"Because we can't have everybody and his brother knowing that we're here. Do you have any common sense?" She yawned in reply.

"Nope. That's all yours."

"Yay," Kali sighed sarcastically, crossing her legs and sitting down.

Sanura switched legs and questioned forlornly, "So how should we kill this one?"

"I figure we should wait to see if she can fight back and if she can, fair fight like always. That probably won't happen, though, mainly because she's a stereotype rich girl. Except for the fact that she works out at the company gym, so she really isn't all that defenseless. If she can't fight back, then –"

"I knock her unconscious and we finish her off painlessly. Are you always this clean-cut with deaths?"

"You should know."

"Hm. I suppose so. Oh look, we're here." The elevator had stopped a couple floors down from the top. Sanura hopped up to the top floor windows, unsheathed her claws and thrust them several times through the floor-to-ceiling glass. This efficiently created an opening big enough for both women to jump through as the elevator began its journey back down the skyscraper. Once inside the office the two of them looked around at the spacious black and glass fixtures, bare shelves and soft gray carpet. "How any human manages to work in a hellhole like this is beyond me."

"Well, their brains don't exactly work like ours," Kali pointed out, letting her wings back out in case she needed them later.

"Hey now, you know how I am about that." Sanura had also undone her spells, letting her tails and ears back into public view. She was wearing her usual silk shirt and pants, though today her shirt was such a light blue that it appeared white, her pants dyed vibrant navy blue. She had also taken the precaution of strapping her twin swords to her back, one crossed over the other. Her hands were gloved so as to prevent the flow of healing energy from palm to sword, her boots laced up tightly to allow better agility than the ridiculous sandals she had seen other warriors wear. Sanura had no room for anything unpractical; everything on her had a purpose and all things without purpose had been discarded.

Kali was dressed in her 19th century gothic outfit as always, though she had taken the trouble to pull her wavy hair into a top-layer ponytail. She hated it getting into her eyes when she was killing off bad guys. Her jacket was not present, in light of the fact that her wings were there instead. Heat came off her in waves, hinting at the fire that waited in her throat. The two of them were nonchalantly awaiting battle, calm and unexcited as a product of years of warfare. Killing was work; nothing more.

Voices were heard in the hall outside and the dragon turned to face the door. Sanura looked to Kali for a signal, left hand ready with a spell and the other poised above her left shoulder, ready to draw the sword. Kali watched the door intently while her hands began retrieving two daggers each from her belt. After a long moment of waiting her fingers began twirling them impatiently, a nervous habit she had had for centuries.

The door knob turned and Kali tensed, though her fair-haired partner remained standing calmly and quietly. The girls heard a deep voice bid the more feminine one farewell as the door opened, and only when they were assured that the woman was alone did they consider attack. She was wearing a light blue dress, her curly red hair bouncing freely around her made-up face.

Sanura, for one, was somewhat relieved. This was just another search-and-destroy type, nothing special, so there would be no complications. It was almost boring.

((To quote our favorite fox, 'don't assume.')) Kali threw two of her daggers at the girl, though she deliberately missed her head and stabbed through her purse – she was testing the waters. The redhead squealed upon noticing the presence of the two women, and shrunk into a corner helplessly. Sanura was taken aback.

= Why're we killing _her?_ =

((What did I just get done telling you?)) The dragon replied. ((Koenma said she was planning to do something fishy with the corporation's power. He didn't know anything else, but I don't think she's who we need to kill.))

= Who, then? =

((That's what I'm trying to figure out. What's she thinking about?))

Sanura scanned her mind for anything significant. An image immediately popped into her head, along with a certain feeling – but she did not quite recognize it. = Her mother. She's afraid for her mother...her boss may be threatening her, but other than that her mind's blank. =

((Great, so who do we get rid of?)) Kali ran through the options in her mind; the girl's superior would be the obvious choice, but complications could always arise. The mom was out, that would only result in the girl being depressed and the boss being angry. They could kill the girl, but her boss would still be at large. Fatcat it was, then. She walked across the room and yanked her daggers out of the wall, pocketing them in her belt once more.

"Are you going to kill me?" The girl whimpered from the floor.

Kali rolled her eyes and walked over the trembling executive, making a b-line for the door. "Where's your boss's office?" Having received directions from the stuttering girl, the dragon opened the door with the intention of finding the bastard who was manipulating the poor ditz head. Before she could follow through with her actions, however, she felt a decidedly demonic aura radiating from behind her and heard a 'whoosh,' followed by a 'thunk.'

Sanura had sensed something deep in the girl's subconscious and, after knocking her out cold, was pleased to find a small oni crawling out the girl's mouth. The cat had cleanly decapitated the offending criminal with a spell-laden sword and picked him up off the floor by the time Kali turned around.

"Threatening boss, huh?"

"So I was wrong for once. Sue me," the golden-haired demon retaliated smartly. Ayame soon came by to confiscate the little devil, and since their plane would not be leaving until the next day – all parties involved had expected a much more difficult operation - the detectives decided to have a little fun while they were still in the states.

"I think we ought to go to the Sequoias. It's great for flying up there," Kali argued.

"As long as I can go hiking." The cat was used to compromise by now. "Hey, would ya' look at that," She was pointing to the rooftop across the street, where four boys and a blue-haired girl were watching them attentively.

"Well, you won the bet," the demon-god scowled. "Let's pay them a visit."

Sanura grinned approvingly and whispered, "Yes, let's."

* * *

"Hey where'd they go?" Yusuke looked around the office through the binoculars Botan had supplied.

"Aw, why can't _our_ missions be that easy?" Kuwabara scowled at the building across the street from them.

Hiei snorted at the boy's stupidity and crossed his arms darkly. Kurama's mind was going ninety-to-nothing, rendering him unaware of the outside world until a distinctly feminine voice rang out from behind them. He recognized it immediately, though he had only heard it once before. The cleverly harmonious tone of her voice coupled with the knowledge that she stood behind him was enough to send his head to the clouds.

"Enjoy the show?" Sanura was floating a few inches off the ground with her arms crossed, seemingly supported by a haze of silvery blue mist. Kali, hands on her hips and a smirk on her face, walked straight toward Hiei until there was about a foot's worth of distance between their faces.

"Doesn't this qualify as baby-sitting?" She asked slyly. A growl was all she received in answer. Hiei's blood was rushing a little too fast for his liking, and he had a strange hunch that the woman in front of him had something to do with it.

Botan began laughing nervously as she tried to come up with a reasonable excuse for their presence, but Sanura cut her off. "It's okay. Koenma almost always does this with us. 'Always digging up trouble,' he says. It's not like we never clean it up, though I'm not sure if we're legally allowed in Michigan anymore."

"Anyway," Kali interrupted, "we're going up the Sequoias. You guys want to come?"

"We'd love to!" Botan immediately cheered.

Kali smiled genuinely, which was rare for her. "Great. How're we going, Sanura?"

The cat ran her fingers through her sheets of orange hair and looked upward – anything to avoid making eye contact with Kurama. Just looking at him was enough to make her blood rush, and she had a thing against blushing. "Well, we could take a train but it would take longer than a plane."

"We don't have plane tickets."

"True. I could rent a car and drive – that would take six or seven hours if we stop to eat in Bakersfield."

"Five if I drive." Several nervous glances were cast in Kali's direction, as well as a smirk.

"Seven when you get pulled over for speeding and arrested for driving without a license -"

"Well when you say it like _that_." Kali muttered. She snuck a glance at the fire demon next to her, taking advantage of the fact that all eyes were on Sanura.

"- so if we were to drive around instead of through Bakersfield, it would only take four and a half hours. Assuming that I drive – there is no way I'm entrusting these people's lives to you. Can you four live on McDonald's for the next few hours?" She turned inquisitive eyes on the humans among them, all of whom nodded.

Sanura did a head count and thought for a second. "Wonderful. I'll have to get a minivan, that's the only way we'll all fit into one vehicle. Why don't you all get your things together and meet us in front of our hotel in an hour?" The two women left without further conversation, in search of a good rental car company.

* * *

The ride had been uneventful as yet, despite the frequent arguments between Hiei and Kuwabara, most of which revolved around Yukina or human stupidity. Sanura was, of course, driving, with Botan in shotgun and giving directions. Kali had taken her solitary seat in the very back row, furthest seat from the sliding door. Kurama sat in the middle, with Hiei on his right. Kuwabara and Yusuke were sitting in the two independent seats in the middle row, talking about something of no real importance.

"_Good night!_ Where did these people learn how to _drive_?" Sanura exclaimed dejectedly. "I've been trying to switch lanes for the past four exists and no one seems able to maintain a constant speed for more than two minutes!" Her voice was airy, high-pitched and above all, exasperated. Kurama stared at the back of her head and asked Kali if she was really that upset.

"No, she hardly ever gets angry. In fact, I've only seen her truly infuriated on three occasions in the entire time we've traveled together; twice as a result of injustice and once as the result of an infantile fool who deserved death."

Kurama's eyes remained on the seemingly enraged driver as he asked delicately, "And did he receive his due payment?"

Kali's eyes narrowed and her lips tightened disgustedly. "No. I wouldn't let her kill him." She smirked at the memory. "I believe that's the only real disagreement we've had in the last millennia, and the only grudge she's got against me. Sanura would murder him in a heartbeat if I were to give her the chance – and not in a too humane manner, if I'm not mistaken."

"That's fascinating," Hiei scowled.

Kali spit a tiny flame onto her finger and flicked it into Hiei's lap, watching the vertically challenged demon sniff at the air until he looked down and noticed a minute hole burned through his cloak.

He immediately laid a hand on his sword and growled, "Woman, the next time you set fire to my clothing I will not hesitate to kill you." This ignorant girl was beginning to get on his nerves, not to mention the fact that she was making him anxious just by sitting so close to him – not that he would admit it.

"Is that a threat?" She asked in the most annoyingly innocent voice she could muster.

"No, it's a promise."

Kali had to admit that he had a sharp enough tongue to match her own. But, of course, her rather perverted mind carried that thought into images she was more than capable of creating.

= You are so lucky that I am here. =

((And why's that?)) Kali shot back, irritated due to the interruption.

Sanura 'humph'ed in her mind. = Had my barrier not been up, a certain fire apparition would have been in on your lovely picture show just now. Consequently, you are _damn_ lucky. =

((Oh...that. Hehe...)) Kali trailed off laughing, allowing Sanura to leave her be and watch the road instead.

* * *

(AN: on a different telepathic frequency...)

* * *

:: You seem nervous, Hiei. ::

- It's none of your concern. - The last thing he needed now was Kurama pestering him.

:: Is it the girl? :: Kurama smirked mentally.

- Like I said, it doesn't matter. –

:: Who would have thought; the most feared swordsman in makai has a crush. :: He could hardly keep the amusement from his voice.

Hiei growled audibly, eliciting a curious look from the dragon demon two seats over. Something comparable to a butterfly started fluttering around in his stomach when her gaze locked with his. It was a feeling he was not only getting used to around her, but was also on the verge of enjoying.

As neither of them had severed the connection, the fox had sensed Hiei's reaction to the dragon's gaze. He kept his grin to himself and saved the information for a later date; it just might become useful.

* * *

Well that's it for now, but I'll have another chapter up soon. Probably in the next two days. I actually have a plan for this one! That's rare for me...anyway, review!! Cuz that's the only way I can tell if anyone reads my stuff!


	4. Road Trip!

Hey, I edited this chapter again so a few things are different, like the many pages I added to the end. So even though this is a repost, READ IT. Has it ever crossed anybody's mind that Hiei is legally a midget? Anyway, here 'tis…

I don't own TOYOTA!

blah – Hiei

blah Sanura

((blah)) Kali

: blah : Kurama

blah. Youko

:-:-:-:-:-

Kali looked out over a picturesque mountain view. Surprisingly enough, she was standing at the side of a road – a road that, because of all its narrow twists and turns, had driven Kuwabara to motion sickness. The group was less than a half hour away from their destination, and currently parked at the highest point the trail would take them to. Everyone was standing in a semi-circle around Kuwabara in an effort to appease him; now was her chance. Her wings shuddered and flapped a few times, as a warm up. She returned to the pulled-over minivan and left her jacket, boots and corset in the car, electing to lace on a pair of black dancing slippers with leather soles.

Hiei saw the demon-god undressing by the car and was mildly intrigued, even more so when she walked straight to the edge of the road and began stretching. In spite of his customary refusal to give in to curiosity, he walked quietly across the road and came to a stop a few feet from her side. Her wings folded and pressed tight against her back in anticipation. She turned to look at him, seemingly arguing with some idea in her mind. The cat's telepathic wall kept him out of the Kali's thoughts, but he could read her just by looking at her face. Apparently she had reached a decision, and proceeded to do something he definitely did not expect her to do. She smiled at him, grabbed his hand and whispered, 'jump.'

Before he could think or take offense in the fact that she was _holding his hand_, she had leapt off the cliff with as much strength as she could gather, and he found himself jumping too. The fire apparition inhaled sharply and shut his eyelids as tightly as he could as they soared out into the open sky – was he nervous? Surely not; he had felt nothing of the sort since childhood.

Air whipped at Hiei's face and tugged harshly at his cloak, but it was well worth it for the absence of his stomach and the lightness in his head. There was no gravity; there were no rules, no people to bother him, no one but himself and the goddess beside him. Gone were the stresses of his life, the worries and tensions and facades to keep up. He was simply there, soaring into blissful oblivion.

And yet, while he was floating without purpose, he had never felt so alive in his life either. Blood was singing in his veins and he was almost drunk on the fresh air in his lungs, his senses heightened and numb at once. One could almost call this floating sensation a high.

Hiei suddenly got an alarming feeling in his half-numb limbs, and opened his eyes to realize that they were presently hurtling toward an expansive forest of Giant Sequoias. That feeling was there again – fear, and a chilling apprehension of death that he had never felt before.

Kali laughed out loud. She could see it on his face, the expectation of death. She waited a few more seconds, until the tips of the sequoias were almost upon them, and let her wings spread out with a deafening 'whoosh.' Kali, who was an experienced flyer to say the least, easily turned her body to cope with the sudden change in direction. Hiei, however, fell victim to inertia. He involuntarily tightened his grip on Kali's hand as his body yanked up toward her.

That was, by far, the most unpleasant part of the ride. The remainder of the flight consisted of leisurely soaring and catching air currents, as well as enjoying the view. A vast expanse of forest lay out below him, endlessly sprawled over the mountains like a deep green blanket. Kali had refrained from saying anything throughout the excursion, a silence Hiei was more than happy to embrace. It took the little fire demon a while to remember that she was holding his hand. He opened his mouth to say something, but realized that if he let go he would inevitably plummet into the surrounding mountains. So instead he glared daggers at her hand, which was actually quite soft…and warm. And rather nice to hold on to.

"Is there some reason you're staring at my hand?" Kali interrupted his thoughts.

Hiei looked up at her with wide eyes, a subtle blush rising across his nose, before looking down again with an audible 'hmph.'

"Yeah…you need to work on your people skills," she advised. Kali kept her grin under control as she laughed inwardly at the surprised look on his face. "Should we start heading back?"

Hiei truly did not know how to respond to that. Being off alone with an attractive woman was not something he was used to; were there not rules for this sort of thing? He did not look forward to rejoining with the others, when he would have to deal with people being loud and disapproving of his solitude. But he did not want the girl thinking he enjoyed her company, either – no matter how true it was. In the end, he nodded in response and let his heart gradually sink on the way back.

:-:-:-:-:-

Sanura did her best not to sing. Really, she did. She clasped her hands together and began hopping up and down as an alternative. She also let out a noise that sounded like something between a squeal and a laugh, though she shut herself up when the other members of the group turned to stare at her. She could not help herself – Kali was flirting. In the dragon's strange, subtle way, she was flirting. Kali almost never did that, despite many urgings from Sanura. And so, in effect, the cat demon was overwhelmed with joy.

"Sanura, are you alright?" Kurama asked, concern evident in his voice.

"Oh, I'm fine," she replied with a wide smile. "It's just that Kali very rarely shows any interest in the male population."

"Really, why's that?"

"Most of them hold no emotional importance for her; she's a hard to get, one night stand type of girl…if that makes any sense."

"It does, though it is a little strange."

"Yeah, well, I'll never understand it."

"Not a one night stand girl yourself?" He preferred not to hear the answer to that, seeing as how the response would probably be one that disappointed him. But, as he reminded himself, conversation was good.

Sanura laughed and shook her head. "Only to a certain extent. The only bad thing about one night stands is that they only happen once." She left him with a fairly surprised and amused look on his face, smiling cleverly as she walked back to the van. Once safely enclosed in its aluminum cage she pushed an AC/DC CD into the CD player and turned the volume up.

_I was caught  
In the middle of a railroad track (Thunder)  
I looked round  
And I knew there was no turning back (Thunder)  
My mind raced  
And I thought what could I do (Thunder)  
And I knew  
There was no help, no help from you (Thunder) _

Sound of the drums  
Beatin' in my heart  
The thunder of guns  
Tore me apart  
You've been – thunderstruck

Sanura was faintly singing harmony and tapping her left heel, absorbed in the music to the point that she did not notice when Kurama slid the side door open and peered inside to see what the woman was up to. Her ears twitched in his direction and the fox tensed for a moment, but she paid them no head.

_I was shakin' at the knees  
Could I come again please?  
Yeah the ladies were too kind  
You've been – thunderstruck_

There was another minute or two of scattered lyrics and instrumentals, then the song faded out and the next track started up.

_If your lookin' for trouble  
im the man to see  
If you're lookin' for satisfaction  
there's satisfaction guaranteed  
oh, I was cool as a bunny on ice  
hotter than the rollin' dice  
send you to heaven take you to hell  
I ain't foolin' cant you tell_

_I'm a live wire  
im a live wire  
im a live wire  
gonna set this town on fire _

_and if you need some lovin'  
and if you need some man  
you've got the phone and the number  
and I got no future plans  
oh come on honey you've got nothin' to lose  
you've got the thirst  
I've got the booze  
give you an inch  
take you a mile  
im gonna make you fry_

_im a live wire  
im a live wire  
im a live wire  
holy smokin' sweet desire_

_like a hotrod baby  
oh stick this in your fuse box  
oh cooler than a bunny on ice  
hotter than the rollin' dice  
wilder than a drunken mite  
you're gonna burn tonight_

"I was under the impression that you like the Spice Girls," Kurama said when the song had died out.

Sanura's right ear twitched in his direction as she turned to face him. "Why would you assume something like that?"

"Just a hunch."

Sanura smiled at him and nodded. "I'm sure."

:-:-:-:-:-

Botan seemed to be the only one noticing the quickly stolen glances between Kurama and Sanura. The two of them were not making too much of an effort to hide their efforts, and to the blue-haired fairy it was plain as day. Being that Yusuke and Kuwabara were male, she had little luck convincing them.

"Kuwabara, don't you want to see what's over here?" she asked hopefully, pointing at a random clearing. It was the seventh attempt at leaving the two demons alone.

"Uh, not really Botan. I'd rather stay on the path."

"Rrrr…Kuwabara! Get back here right now! You too, Yusuke!" The boys sighed, but followed her nonetheless. Finally, success.

"Where are you three heading off to?" Kurama asked politely. : Don't leave me alone with her. : Sanura frowned at him for some reason. : Every time I talk to her she walks off or starts talking to someone else…she must hate me, there is no other plausible reason I can think of. :

Sanura sighed and crossed her arms, oblivious to the explanation Botan was offering Kurama. Well then. It would seem that I hate Kurama she thought to no one in particular, making sure to exclude Hiei and Kali on that thought – they needed their quiet. Kurama turned to her and asked if she had said something, looking rather confused.

"I don't recall," she answered sweetly. If he was not aware that that was her speaking then he needed no reason to find out. Sanura continued toward a clearing in which the two demons could take a break from their walk. Neither of them was tired, but it was still nice to stay in one place for a bit.

"That's odd, I could have sworn…oh well," he shrugged it off and followed the cat down the trail. The sequoias, which stood at least a hundred feet tall, were devoid of leaves for the first thirty feet of growth, creating a natural ceiling over the forest floor. The giant trees took up little space in the soil, much to the advantage of various ferns and smaller trees that grew at random intervals. Light filtered in through the thousands of transparent leaves and added a slightly damp, green-tinted glow to the atmosphere. Somewhere in the distance a river rapid tumbled noisily over underwater boulders, creating the faint sound of roaring water.

Sanura could hardly stand it. It was too quiet, Kurama thought she hated him and Botan was trying to play matchmaker. A lot of good that was doing, the guy had said roughly ten words to her so far. She was never the type to start a conversation, and even if she had been, what would she say? She knew all the basic information about Youko's past as well as Kurama's, and they certainly were on no terms to discuss any more-than-basic information. In similar situations, being the physically oriented creature that she was, Sanura typically gave up all hope for conversation and settled for 'assessing the physical attributes' of her company. Unfortunately for her, Kurama had worn rather uncooperative clothing, dressed with his usual sense of modesty. Therefore, as far as she was concerned, the only remaining option was sleep.

She leapt nimbly to the bottom branch of one of the smaller trees and made herself comfortable, leaning back against the trunk. She propped her left foot against a knothole and folded her hands across the bent knee, letting her right leg stretch out along the length of the branch.

Kurama watched all of this with mild interest, the Youko in him taking note of the fact that she was wearing sheer silk – possibly without underwear. Before his perverted mind could digest that any further he decided to attempt conversation, choosing to ignore the obvious disinterest the woman was showing. "Did you and Kali attend the entire tournament?"

"Yup. We saw every second of it, courtesy of Koenma; he was nice enough to get us tickets. We met a few of the other teams, as well." Kurama nodded and a corner of the cat's mouth curled up in one of her devious grins. "If you're waiting for me to say something about y'all's fighting, you've got another thing coming." She said to him in English, testing to see if he could speak it well.

The fox looked up at her at the word 'y'all,' his confused scowl accenting the slant of his clever eyes. "What exactly does y'all mean?" he answered her in perfect English.

Sanura burst out laughing at the way he said 'y'all,' with his nose scrunched up as if the word smelled fowl and his mouth tense as if it left a bad taste in his mouth. She understood his discomfort with it. He had most likely learned proper English in school, and 'y'all' was definitely not proper. "There's no exact anything about it. It's slang for 'you all.' People usually only say it in the southern part of America."

"I see. If you don't mind my asking, why would you use a slang word?"

"Why wouldn't I?" Sanura was leaning forward on her knee at this point; she was almost interested.

"Well, for one thing you were not raised here –"

"You sure about that?"

"After hearing you ask that, no."

"Too bad. You were right," Sanura sighed and planted her left hand on the branch behind her, then swung her body over the side of the tree limb and landed neatly in the grass below. She walked silently back to the path and followed it to the other side of the clearing before turning back to Kurama. "Are you going to stand there for ever and a day, or come with me?" One red eyebrow rose up in surprise as he started forward. "Tell you what…since I know pretty much everything factual there is to know about you, why don't I give you a bunch of useless information so we can get past this 'awkward silence' phase."

"Sounds reasonable."

"Wonderful…so you know about my parents. I was born in 68 B.C. and raised in Egypt, but I got tired of that so I convinced mom to let me visit dad for a few years. I couldn't find him, of course, so I just camped out in Japan for a while – that was around 15 or 20 B.C. or something. Anyway, I got bored again and decided to trek through Asia by myself. That wasn't the brightest idea, but hey, I was only seventy-something. So I learned a little Chinese on my way through there and then went up north through Russia. That lasted about two months before I headed south to India, where I met Kali and Shiva. Shiva was Kali's husband at the time. Spent a few years there and then Kali died, so I thought I'd check out Israel. That definitely wasn't fun, seeing as how Jesus had just been crucified and raised from the dead and all that, so everything was pretty much chaos.

By that time I was just tired of all things ancient culture, so I walked up to Scotland and lived for 400 years as a hermit in Inverness. By that time there were decent boats, so I stole one and more or less used my magic to find and get to North America. Don't look at me like that, it's not as hard as it sounds," she defended herself from a disbelieving look of Kurama's. "I spent Lord knows how long with a number of different native tribes, then took my leave again and took a trip through the French territories in what's now Canada. So that was in the early 1500's…what did I do after that?"

She bit her lip in concentration, much to the frustration of a certain fox. We should take her now, there's no one else here. Youko had been pestering him about this topic for the last few hours.

: We hardly know her and that would be irresponsible, besides. :

Responsibility is not my concern.

: Obviously not. : The redhead's strides slowed a bit as a result of his pre-occupation, giving him an uninterrupted view of the cat's silk-clad legs.

You can see just as well as I can how long her legs are, and would you just look at those hips? You can't deny your needs forever. The silver fox sent a torrent of images and memories of his past lovers through Kurama's head, resulting in a fairly immediate need for the aforementioned desires.

Sanura very nearly lost control of her laughter. Despite the humor of the conversation, she did feel sorry for the righteous half of him, and so concluded that she would try to distract him from Youko. After all, she could use her telepathy. She did her best to quiet down Youko's voice in Kurama's head, though it was rather difficult without being caught.

"Right…I decided I didn't like French people so I stayed just long enough to learn the language before catching one of the ice barges out of Quebec. They wanted to go around the far north of Canada, over the ice no less, to get to Russia. How stupid is that? It would never work. Anyway, all I wanted to do was get to Alaska, which is where we met the ice sheet of the century and had to stop. So I got off in Alaska and hiked to Nome, where I spent a few months building another boat. I then went back to Japan, only to find it in a demonic uproar that I didn't really want to be part of.

That was about the time that the Kekai Barrier was being put up, and Koenma needed help rounding up demons that were still in the human world. So I helped him with that in exchange for a portal to Egypt, where I met up with mother for a few decades. Then, for no reason whatsoever, I left for Arabia. After a few months on the back of a camel I overheard some nomadic salesmen telling a story about this amazing winged creature in Kurdistan. And I thought, 'hey, that sounds like fun,' so I ran off to Kurdistan to find this winged…thing. It turned out to be a dragon by the name of Natesa, and she was terrorizing the Turkish villagers for fun. She told me that she was the reincarnation of the goddess Kali, and that she remembered me from the past life.

So we left the poor townspeople alone and went to America – Georgia, to be exact – until the end of the Civil War. As soon as reconstruction started we took the first ship to England, and trekked to Scotland from there. Kali absolutely fell in love with Scottish life and refused to leave until World War Two flared up. She finally agreed that we needed to go somewhere else, so we took a train to Egypt and stayed with my mother until the late eighties."

"At which point you returned to Japan, and received a job offer from Koenma," Kurama finished for her.

"Very good. And we've been working for him since." Sanura sighed, glad to be done talking. Her life was getting too long to explain anymore.

"It makes sense, then, that the two of you take care of the international work."

"That it does." The trail opened into the clearing the minivan was parked in, and the two demons found a very impatient spirit detective waiting for them as well as Botan and Kuwabara.

Botan, for one, was laughing slyly and positively leering at Sanura. "Just what took you two so long?" Kurama blushed at that, though the cat next to him laughed.

"Naught but useless chatting, Botan…why so interested?" The fairy girl resorted to her nervous laughter instead of answering, much to Sanura's amusement. About that time, she heard Kali laughing in her mind.

((I'm so evil,)) She managed to think around her laughs. Sanura frowned and asked what that was supposed to suggest. ((Just watch,)) was her only reply.

Roughly two minutes later wind started picking up, dust began blowing away and leaves rustled in the trees. Sanura picked up the rhythmic 'whoosh' of Kali's widespread wings, and the dragon herself appeared in the sky with Hiei in her grasp. Kurama had to stifle a laugh at the site of the little fire apparition, who was holding onto to both of Kali's arms with all he had in him. Said demon-god was smirking, and Sanura could tell right away that she was going to do something regrettable.

:-:-:-:-:-

"Unless you want to end up on your ass, I'll need both your arms," Kali informed him, grasping his right hand without further warning. She pulled him around so that he was facing her, then tipped her legs up, effectively lowering him so that he hung from her arms. There was a mischievous glint in her eye that made Hiei slightly nervous, though her firm grip on his wrists made struggling pointless.

Everything after that happened too quickly for either of them to remember. Hiei's feet hit the ground, he felt himself go sprawling backward, and suddenly she was on top of him. His immediate reaction was to fight back, jerking his arms and legs in an attempt to free them from her grasp. It was considerably useless; her grip was firm and his legs were pinned under her hips, which rested on his thighs. In a last effort he heaved his thighs upward, successfully throwing her forward.

His brilliant plan backfired just a bit, for instead of falling clumsily off of him Kali laughed and landed securely on his chest. This was fine with her, but did not go over so well with Hiei. A growl vibrated through his chest, causing the woman above him to laugh once more.

She placed both his arms in her left hand and let the other slip down her captive's side, raking her fingers so gently they almost tickled. He involuntarily shivered, much to the delight of a certain demon-god. She giggled softly and whispered, "You don't have fun much, do you?"

"I try to make use of my time," he growled. She mentally noted that his breathing was slightly off and repositioned her hips, struggling not to laugh at his reaction.

"We need to fix that." Her voice was smooth, roughly melodic and seductive as hell. It washed over him like music and persuaded his reluctant muscles to ease, let his mind stray from his responsibilities. His next breath carried in it the fragrances of vanilla and musk, and after inhaling deeper, he discovered an underlying whisper of Jasmine. His eyes drifted shut and he breathed in again, searching out the delicate trace of it in her sweet scent. He loved the smell of Jasmine. The fact that she kept readjusting her hips and rubbing against his already rigid member was not at all helpful, as enjoyable as it might have been.

Just as Hiei was getting comfortable – perhaps even content – with the arrangement, she lifted herself up, grazing him one last time, as her lips broke into a suggestive grin. 'Her full, red lips…agh!' Hiei shook his head to clear the thoughts from his head and hopped back to his feet in a blur of black. He tried his hardest to be mad at her as she walked away, but for some reason he could not bring himself to it. A nagging voice in the back of his head was telling him why he had trouble staying mad at her, but he dismissed it as a side effect of the lack of oxygen in his brain.

:-:-:-:-:-

Sanura woke up to the sun nudging at her squinted eyelids. After attempting to block out the sun with her arm she found that most of her body was covered with Yusuke, Hiei, or Kurama. That last one she had no problem with, but someone's hair gel was seeping through her black silk – and that was what woke her up. Carefully removing various body parts from her own, the cat demon stood up and leapt cleanly out from the middle of the pile of her friends.

Kali awakened soon after and the two of them pieced the previous night together over tea and honeydew. The end conclusion was that they had returned at some wee hour of the morning and collapsed because of a mixture of alcohol and exhaustion, and both women distinctly remembered dragging the boys to a bar Sanura had once worked in.

Everyone was still asleep for the most part when Kali's cell started beeping; not that she noticed.

"Why do have an ass if you don't answer it?" Sanura got her attention. (AN: this is an inside joke from wonder falls, the tv show. she's talking the bartender and his cell rings – it's in his back pocket, but he doesn't answer. so she says 'why do you have an ass if you don't answer it? and we say that now.)

"Right." Kali walked over to her black canvas shoulder bag and dug around, stepping on Hiei in the process.

Hiei's eyes snapped open and grew wide, and his sword was in hand before Kali's foot was off his leg. He was just about to slice the clumsy idiot in two when the clang of metal on metal sent his sword flying into the wall – right next to another one. It was smaller than his own, but just as long and made entirely out of glinting white silver, with two twisted dragon tails on either side of the handle. He moved to pull it out of the wall and inspect it, momentarily forgetting the incident with Kali, – who was talking obliviously on her phone – but the weapon vibrated and yanked its self out of the wall. It made a noise somewhere in between a whirr and a zip as it flew in the direction of the dining area.

He followed the sword to Sanura, who caught it in her hand with expert ease while pouring tea with her other hand. "Can't have you decapitating my best friend," she explained, and offered him the tea. He refused.

"You must be thirsty, we haven't eaten since day before last." She reasoned, pouring him a cup and setting it in front of him.

"I don't need human food."

Kali walked into the dining and argued, "She didn't say you needed it."

"Very true," Sanura nodded and pointed at the cup. "Drink it or she won't give your sword back."

Kali flashed the blade in front of the fire demon's face before stuffing it into a loop in her jacket – to the left of her generously endowed chest. She then flicked her wrist up, index finger pointed to the heavens matter-of-factly. "Tea is essential to developing one's deeper thought process."

Hiei only crossed his arms and leaned back against the chair, looking out the window as if entirely uninterested and confident he would get the sword back later.

Sanura blew a raspberry at him as Kali poured another cup for her self, along with a piece of pita bread. "Koenma wants us to go to Texas."

"Rodeo?"

"Uhuh."

"Oh great, I love those." A dry smile fixed itself on Sanura's face. "And you're coming? I find this highly unusual."

"Cowboys, my friend. Cowboys."

Hiei narrowed his eyes just slightly, barely enough for Sanura to notice. She laughed openly. "He's jealous, Kali, he's jealous!"

Kali immediately began to poke him. "It feels something? Impossible." She looked genuinely skeptical for a moment, but went back to her breakfast without another thought. She finished her fifth cup of tea and drew Hiei's sword again, slicing it through the air with amateur strokes that nearly drove him insane – and made Sanura laugh.

"Hmph. You may be able to kick my ass fist-to-fist, but I could take you with a sword any day," Sanura smirked at her.

"Is that a threat?"

"Promise."

"Bring it."

The two of them readied their weapons and bowed, then began a curious series of lunges and blocks, most of which the koorime had never seen before. While they engaged in this ridiculously slow combat, they skipped back and forward in the most predictable pattern ever conceived.

"What on earth are you attempting to do?"

"Fencing, oh feisty one." The cat kept her eyes on Kali's sword, though she did look up briefly as Kurama appeared next to the refrigerator. At that point she decided not to continue the frivolous swordplay, so she promptly knocked the blade from her opponent's hand. Her own sword returned to her strap with a futuristic whirr as she walked out of the kitchen.

"Don't forget!" Kali yelled after her.

"Texas, I know!" She hollered back.

:-:-:-:-:-

Sanura walked out of her room, having showered and dried her hair, to find everyone waiting for her. She wore a black flared skirt that ended at mid-calf, along with a black tube-top with laces up the front, both made of silk. Kali, on the other hand, had settled for a pair of black cargo capris, silk slippers, and a red tank-top with a black lace pattern on it. Her hair was twisted up into a clip and a few ringlets fell down in the front to frame her face.

There was awkward silence for a bit, and the only sound in the room was the distant clattering of silverware as Yusuke and Kuwabara took the opportunity to devour more food. Botan was trying not to laugh at the other two boys, as was Sanura, and Kali remained painfully aware of the cleavage that particular tank-top gave her. Hiei's eyes had widened immediately after seeing her, and the first – and only – thing he could think to do was turn his face so she was unable to notice the blush. Kurama had yet to stop staring at her, a condition which was not helped by the demon occupying his thoughts at the moment.

The silence was finally broken by Sanura, who burst out laughing and shook her head as she retrieved her weapons. A short while later the plane tickets were all sorted out and everyone piled into a taxi to head for the airport.

:-:-:-:-:-

so…I know it's been forever since I updated, and there's really no excuse for it but laziness. I will be adding to/editing 'standing down' so if you want to check that out, come back in a week. buhbye!


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